While dropped calls have become a running joke in cell-phone advertising, at least one form of wireless communication may be about to get better.

This summer, the IEEE quietly approved amendments to its Wi-Fi standards that will help wireless devices in motion achieve a more seamless connection. The 802.11r, otherwise known as fast basic service set (BSS) transitions, reduce roaming time to a fraction undetectable to the human ear. The faster handoff will improve the quality, reliability and security of connection for mobile Wi-Fi devices.

The new standards will find their primary application to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephony devices or, in simple terms, mobile phones that connect to a wireless Internet network. Unlike cellular phones, which roam between base stations with ranges of hundreds or thousands of yards, these Wi-Fi VoIP phones shift between access points whose range is considerably less, sometimes measured in feet. For devices that are moving rapidly, in a car for example, this could require a handoff between points every few seconds.

Roaming delays under 802.11 networks typically average in the hundreds of milliseconds (ms), a seemingly infinitesimal amount of time. However, the human ear is a precise instrument, and delays must not exceed 50 ms to avoid detection. The new 802.11r standard allows devices to establish security and quality of service (QoS) before making a handoff, all in under 50 ms. This avoids noticeable breaks in connections, or “hiccups,” as well as loss in quality, or in some cases, dropped connections.